The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-01

to Lawyer Boles' office Boles was an bo,,.-.
young lawyer, and the girl could state I Sal
case to him. Wightman and the girl W..
to the young lawyers Office, and this enSoS
Detective Lowell's connection with the Sooso
cross divorce suit and with Nav Tbatcba,,'s
When Wightman and May Thatcher wall;
into Lawyer Boles' office Nav Tbatc6ooaa
gave the name of May Livingston SSr
| told story quite as imaginative as Kin.
down and wrote a letter to Mr.. C. G So.
at Buffalo, saying that Miss Livingstonee' 1 ~
the ST. Omer hotel escapade was aho,,a
become q mother, and that he had hot+.o.
''avoid publicity or legal steps, by setti.
ing.
On receiving the letter Mr.. Sears at oroo
wrote to his counsel, William F. Burr NJ
320 Broadway, saying that he had never
been to the st. Omer Hotel, and inclosina.
the letter that had been sent TO him. Bur-
placed himself in communication wifi
Boles. Mary Thatcher thought that her
case was already in court, and was surprisad
after more than weeks waiting to learn
that it had not yet begun.
Mr.. Lowell was surprised one morning n
see her come into his office. She con- W
planned that Boles was doing nothing with
her case, and she asked Lowell to 20 will
her to Boles' office Lowell, who knew
nothing that had taken place in LAWYER
Boles' office, walked in there with the eirl
and said:
Mr.. Boles, Miss Thatcher is dissat.
isfied with the way you are carrying on the
casen
Miss Thatcher" said Boles; 'wby sbs
gave me the name of Livingston
Boles then said to her that for his own prr.
lection she must make an affidavit recitino
her story. A few days previous Boles had
called on counselor Burr, and, being asked
to say in writing how much the girl would
take, wrote that she would settle for 81 ,OO0
Counselor Burr next wrote for her affidavit
and the affidavit already drawn was sent to
him.
Five days later, on June II, LAWYER Boles
Wightman, May Thatcher and Mr.. Lowell
were arrested on a charge of blackmail. Nav
thatcher was accepted as witness for the
State. She claimed that the whole affair
was job of blackmail put up by Lowellapd
Wightman to blackmail Sears to prevent
him from prosecuting his divorce suit until
he had paid them money and that she was
an innocent victim.
All were put in Jail till they furnished
$4,000 bail each. Wightman was tried Nov
II before Judge Brady in Oyer and Ter
miner. The case was on four days Counsel
for the defense claimed that the letter sent
by Boles was merely business letter and did
not contain threat. Wlghtman was cOnvist-
ed and was sent to Sing Sing for three
years, where he now is.
Mr.. Lowell was brought to trial last week,
and was defended by ex-senator Grady and
Maurice Mayer. The defense claimed that
the job, if there was one, was put up by an
other firm of detectives, who had learned of
the Sears case, and that they got May That
cher to go to Lowell, and that she was an
employee of theirs. The defense claimed that
after May Thatcher lost her occupation as a
prospective witness in the Sears case she be-
came acquainted with two detectives, who
induced her to go to Lowell with false
story for the purpose of placing him in a bad
light and of making it appear that he had
done wrong.
The counsel claimed that Lowell was
wholly ignorant of all that went on in
Lawyer Boies' Office, and never saw the let
ter which was sent to Mr.. Sears. After the
prosecution finished the defense asked that
the case be dismissed Judge Van Brunt dis
missed it at once. Mr. LowelPs business has
been ruined by it.